Ceviche de Conchas Negras: Black Shell Clam

Ingredients

• 500 g conchas negras (Anadara tuberculosa), live, opened raw, meat and black blood reserved
• 120 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 ají limo, thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced into half-moons
• 5 g fresh coriander (cilantro), leaves only
• 1 tsp fine sea salt

Method

1. 1
   Open the conchas negras raw over a bowl, preserving all released blood. Detach the meat cleanly from each shell. The meat and the pooled liquid should be a deep burgundy-black; any clam showing pale, watery liquid is discarded.
2. 2
   Combine the clam meat, reserved black blood and lime juice in a cold bowl. Add salt and ají limo. Turn once to coat. The lime juice will immediately take on a deep burgundy colour from the haemoglobin — this is the leche de tigre. This is where the dish lives or dies: the acid must be sufficient to dress the clam without masking its intensely marine, iodine character; taste at once and correct salt and acid before the onion is added.
3. 3
   Add the sliced red onion and fold through. The onion should retain its raw bite and structure; it must not soften.
4. 4
   Finish with coriander leaves. Serve immediately in chilled bowls or on the half-shell; the leche de tigre must still carry its fresh, sharp marine aroma at the moment it reaches the table.